Becks' Miami stadium plans rejected

11 June 2014 05:31

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David Beckham will have to find a new location for the stadium for his Major League Soccer franchise after plans to build on the waterfront in Miami were rejected.

Beckham's proposal was to build a 25,000-seater stadium in between the Miami Heat's American Airlines Arena and a park which is currently nearing completion, in a project which involved filling in a strip of water to use as the base for the stadium.

But those plans have now been rejected, and Beckham must go back to the drawing board in his search for a plot.

"The slip is off the table," Miami mayor Tomas Regalado told the Miami Herald.

"Given the uniqueness of this site, we agreed that this was just not the right place."

Four years ago Beckham activated a clause that was written into his Los Angeles Galaxy contract which allowed him to set up an MLS franchise.

The 39-year-old chose Miami, the Florida city packed with football-mad Hispanics, as the host for his as yet unnamed franchise which it was hoped would enter the league in 2017.

The initial plan for a stadium by the port was rejected by county mayor Carlos Jimenez and Regalado after protestors launched an aggressive advertising campaign, warning Miamians their city's skyline would be ruined by "out of towners".

Beckham is backed by multi-millionaire pop mogul Simon Fuller and wealthy Bolivian businessman Marcelo Claure and they insisted they would fund the entire soccer franchise - the building of the stadium on the waterfront, the regeneration of the park and any other costs.